Starting device for explosive-engines.



No. 680,923. Patented m. 20, mm.

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STARTING DEVIGE FOR EXPLGSIVE ENGINES.

(Application filad Mar. 8, 1900.) (No Model.) '3 Sheeflr-Sheet 3.

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No. 680,923. Patented Au 20', I90l.

T. B. .ummv. STARTING DEVICE. FOR EXPLUSIVE ENGINES.

(Application filed Mar. 8, 1900.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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No. 680,923. Patented Aug. 20, mm.

. I. B. JIEIFFEHY.

STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

(Applicatioiflied my. a, 1900. (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shani 3|.

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THOMAS B. JEFFERY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STARTENG DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE=ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,923, dated August 20, 1901.

Application filed March 8, 1900. Serial No. 7,795. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. J EFFERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Gas-Engine Starter and Speed- Regulator, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

This invention relates to gas-engines which are electrically ignited; and it is designed to afford means for timing the igniting-spark, so that the ignition may occur at the most favorable time in relation to the stroke of the piston, and particularly so that at starting it shall not occur so prematurely as to cause reverse action of the crank-shaft. I have applied it particularly to motor-vehicles and have specifically designed it to provide means whereby the operation of the starting device shall automatically adjust the spark-controlling mechanism to delay the spark until after the completion of the compressing stroke of the piston.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a motor-carriage having an engine with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan of the engine. Fig. 8 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 4c is a detail sectional plan of the pawl-and-ratchet mechanism of the starting device, the section being made at the line 4 on Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail side elevations of two forms of the starting-lever pawl, ratchet, and trip device.

I will not describe the structure of the engine or carriage in detail, only referring to such parts as are necessarily associated with my particular improvements, and it may be understood that the general construction of the motor and carriage is such as is customary.

a is a crank-shaft having a pinion A, which meshes with a gear B on the parallel shaft Z).

c is a vertical shaft driven by the shaft 1) by means of miter-gears 0'13 on said shafts, respectively. At the upper end of the shaft 0 the spark-controller D is located. The specific construction of this spark-controller is the subject-matter of my application filed February 5, 1900, Serial No. 3,956. So far as it is concerned in the present application it will be sufficient to state with respect to it that itcomprises an element D, rotated by the shaft 0, carrying circuit breaking and closing devices for the primary and secondary circuits arranged to make and break said circuits in proper time relation to the movements of the pistons in the several cylinders of the engine. For the specific purpose of the present invention one of the contact-pieces of the primary circuit is secured to a plate D which is adjustable about the axis of the shaft 0, so that the point in the revolution of that shaft at which the primary circuit is closed and broken may be varied by the adjustment of said plate and contact-piece thereon.

D is a stem or finger of said contact-piececarrying plate, extending out through the case of the controller for connection with mechanical means for adjusting the plate, and thereby the contact-piece. On the shaft 1) there may be fastened a ratchet-wheel B and on said shaft or concentric therewith on the frame, as may be found most convenient, there is f ulcrumed the starting-leverE, which carries a pawl E, adapted to engage the ratchet-wheel B to actuate the same and the shaft, and thereby the crank-shaft, in the direction in which the latter is intended to rotate in the ordinary action of the engine. The starting-lever is designed to have a short range of oscillating movement about its said fulcrum and to actuate the ratchet --wheel, and thereby the shaft 19 and the crank-shaft, with a step-by-step movement, each step be ing only a few degrees of the rotation of the crank-shaft. The back-and-forth movement of the starting-lever is continued until the crank-shaft is rotatedfar enough to bring one of the pistons to the end of its compressing stroke and to produce the igniting-spark, causing an explosion, which will thereupon drive the piston on its outward stroke, thus taking the motion initiated by the startinglever and causing it to be continued with the further action of the engine. In order that the pawl may not continue to ride over the ratchet-wheel with a noisy action after the engine is started and while it continues to run under the impulse of the explosion, I provide a device for lifting the nose of the pawl out of the ratchet-wheel at the limit or beyond the limit of its retreating stroke or action. This device may be in either oneof the two forms shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In the first I have shown the pawl provided with a tail or heel piece E and on the frame adjacent to the plane of movement of the lever and pawl I provide a trip-cam or mechanical switch G, under which the heel E of the pawl passes in its retraction, the under face of said cam being eccentric with respect to the center of movement of the starting-lever, so that the pawl is forced inward at the heel and outward at the nose as the lever is retracted, and the pawl is'thus lifted entirely out of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel during the last portion of said retracting movement. It will be understood that the position of this switch-cam is such as to permit a sufficient oscillatory motion of the lever to give the starting movement to the crank-shaft without bringing the pawl back far enough to cause it to become disengaged. In the form shown in Fig. 6 the action is the same, the structure differing only in that in lieu of the switch-cam G, I employ a switch-cam g, which extends under or inward from the pivot of the pawl, being encountered by the latter at the side toward the ratchet-wheel and between'the fulcrum and the nose, the pawl in this case having no heel, but being lifted out of engagement with the ratchetwheel directly instead of by inward pressure upon the opposite side of the fulcrum. It will be noticed that in addition to preventing the noisy action of the pawl-and-ratchet device, which would result from leaving the pawl constantly in engagement with the ratchetwheel, this expedient removes the danger of breaking the pawl or ratchet wheel or some connected part in case,.by any means, an explosion should be produced so prematurely at starting as to cause the engine to be reversed, for in such case the reverse movement of the ratchet-wheel would carry the pawl back into encounter with the switchcam, causing it to be disengaged. In the structure illustrated in the drawings the controllerD for the igniting device is located at the opposite side ofthe engine from the starting-lever, as is most convenient. I do not confine myself to this relative location of the device, but when thus located I provide a link H, connected to the finger D of the adjustable plate D said link extending across to the other side of the engine and being connected to the hand-lever J, fulcrumed on the engine-frame and extending rearward toward the engineers seat and ending in convenient position to be operated by the engineer. This lever is located so that it extends into the plane of oscillatory movement of the starting-lever E and in such relation to that movement that it is easily actuated by the starting-lever when it is encountered by that lever. The particular form of the levers and relation of the fulcrum of the lever H to the plane of movement to the lever E is a matter of convenience, and I do not limit myself thereto. The essential characteristic of the invention at this point is that the starting-lever encounters and actuates an element suitably connected with the plate D to cause said plate to be actuated by the encounter. The position of the starting-lever when outof actionthat is, when not being actuated to start the engine-is such that it does not obstruct the free movement of the lever I-I throughout the full range necessary to effect the maximum adjustment of the plate D which is ever desirablethat is, the adjustment necessary to vary the sparkingpoint to the maximum desirable extent either Way from the point of completion of the compressing stroke of the piston. The engineer is therefore free to operate this lever H when the engine is running to vary the sparking-point as may be found desirable in order to obtain the greatest efficiency in the action of the engine, it being understood that when the engine is running most rapidly it may be desirable to cause ignition a little before the end of the compressing stroke, and when the engine is running very slowly it is desirable to postpone the ignition until somewhat after the commencement of the retreating stroke, and thatin general the higher the speed the more should the ignition be hastened and the slower the speed the more should it be delayed. WVhen, however, the engine, being at rest, is to be started by the starting-lever, it is important that whatever may have been the adjustment during the last action of the engine the adjustment of the controller now should be such as to postpone the spark. until the piston has passed the point of maximum compression and started on the return movement, so that by no possibility can the explosion cause the reverse action of the crank-shaft. The starting-lever E is therefore arranged, as seen most clearly in Fig. 1, so that upon the first stroke rearwardthat is, the first crank-shaft-actuat-in g strokeand before the completion of that stroke it encounters the lever J and swings it over to the limit of its range of adjustment in the direction tending to delay the igniting-spark. Since each step of the step movement which the starting-lever gives the crank-shaft is a small fraction only of a complete revolution of said shaft, it is designed that even if the piston happens to stand at a point near the limit of its compressing stroke and if the controller is at the same time so adjusted that the spark would be produced either before or very near to the end of the compressing-stroke the first movement of the starting-lever will move the lever J, operating the adjustable contact-piece, so as to shift the sparking-point in the direction in which the piston is moving, so as to keep it always in advance of the piston throughout the whole of the first step movement of the starting-lever or so much thereof as may be made without carrying the piston to the end of its compressing stroke and starting it on the return, and the explosion will not be caused during the said first movement unless the adjustment of the controller at the commencement of that movement was such as to locate the sparking-point after the close of the compressing movement.

I claim 1. In a gas-engine having an electric igniter and a controller for the same operating in uniform time relation with the engines movements, an adjustable contact-piece in such controller whose position within its range of adjustment determines the time of ignition in the cycle of the engines movements; a starting device, and connections by which the same in its starting movement adjusts said contact-piece to a position causing delayed ignition.

2. In a gas-engine having an electric igniter, a rotary controlling mechanism actuated by the engine to open and close the igniting circuits in uniform time relation with the engines movements; a contact-piece'in said controlling mechanism, movable in the path of rotation of the rotating parts to vary the point in the cycle of the engines movements at which ignition occurs; astarting device comprising a lever and connections therefrom to actuate the engine crank-shaft, and an element connected with the adjustable contact-piece and extending into the path of the crank-actuating movement of the lever and actuated by such movement in a direction to cause the contact-piece to be moved to position postponing the ignition until after the close of the compressing stroke of the piston.

3. In a gas-engine having an electric igniter and a controller for the same operating in uniform time relation with the engines movements, an adjustable contact-piece in such controller Whose position within its range of adjustment determines the time of ignition in the cycle of the engines movements; a starting device comprising a clutch connection with the shaft of the motor-train, by which alternate movements in opposite directions of the starting device gives step-bystep actuation in continuous direction to the crank-shaft, an element of the starting device having such alternating movement, and an element by which the contact-piece is moved, extended into the path of the shaft-actuating movement of said element of the starting device, and actuated by said movement to adjust the contact-piece to position postponing the sparking until after the close of the compressing stroke of the piston.

4. In a gas-engine having an electric igniter and a controller for the same operating in uniform time relation with the engines movements, an adjustable contact-piece in such controller whose position within its range of adjustment determines the time of ignition in the cycle of the engines movements; a starting-lever, and a pawl-and-ratchet connection by which such lever actuates the engine crank-shaft when the lever is moved in one direction, and which permits the return of the lever or the continuous motion of the crank-shaft in that direction; a second lever having an arm extended in the path of the crank-actuating movement of the startinglever; and connections from said second lever to the adjustable contact-piece, arranged to cause the movement derived by said second lever from the starting-lever to adjust the contact-piece to position for delayed ignition.

5. In a gas-engine having an electric igniter and a controller for the same operating in uniform time relation with the engines movements, an adjustable contact-piece in such controller whose position within its range of adjustment determines the time of ignition in the cycle of the engines movements; a starting device comprising a clutch connection with the shaft of the motor-train, by which alternate movements in opposite directions of the starting device gives step-bystep actuation in continuous direction to the crank-shaft, an element of the starting device having such alternating movement, and an element by which the contact-piece is moved, extended into the path of the shaft actuating movement of said element of the starting device, and actuated by said movement to adjust the contact-piece, said starting-device element at the end of its withdrawing or non-actuating movement being out of the path of movement of the contact-piecemoving element, whereby the latter is free to be moved throughout its entire range of adjustment when the starting-lever is returned to initial position.

6. In a gas-engine, in combination with the crankshaft, a parallel shaft, 1), a power-communicating train in which both said shafts are revolved; a ratchet-wheel on said parallel shaft, and a starting-lever fulcrumed concentric therewith, having a pawl engaging said ratchet-wheel to rotate said shaft; a shaft, 0, extending upward at right angles with the shaft b, and an igniter-controlling mechanism located at the upper end of and operated by said shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Chicago, Illinois, in the presence of two witnesses, this 6th day of March, A. D. 1900.

Tnos, B. JEFFERY,

In presence of JERRY W. DE CoN, CHARLES T. JEFFERY.

too 

